10 U.S. Code § 2561 - Humanitarian assistance

To the extent provided in defense authorization Acts, funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Defense for a fiscal year for humanitarian assistance shall be used for the purpose of providing transportation of humanitarian relief and for other humanitarian purposes worldwide.

(2)

The Secretary of Defense may use the authority provided by paragraph (1) to transport supplies intended for use to respond to, or mitigate the effects of, an event or condition, such as an oil spill, that threatens serious harm to the environment, but only if other sources to provide such transportation are not readily available. The Secretary may require reimbursement for costs incurred by the Department of Defense to transport supplies under this paragraph.

(b)Availability of Funds.—

To the extent provided in appropriation Acts, funds appropriated for humanitarian assistance for the purposes of this section shall remain available until expended.

(c)Status Reports.—

(1)

The Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional committees specified in subsection (f) an annual report on the provision of humanitarian assistance pursuant to this section for the prior fiscal year. The report shall be submitted each year at the time of the budget submission by the President for the next fiscal year.

(2)

Each report required by paragraph (1) shall cover all provisions of law that authorize appropriations for humanitarian assistance to be available from the Department of Defense for the purposes of this section.

(3) Each report under this subsection shall set forth the following information regarding activities during the previous fiscal year:

(A)

The total amount of funds obligated for humanitarian relief under this section.

(B)

The number of scheduled and completed transportation missions for purposes of providing humanitarian assistance under this section.

(C)

A description of any transfer of excess nonlethal supplies of the Department of Defense made available for humanitarian relief purposes under section 2557 of this title. The description shall include the date of the transfer, the entity to whom the transfer is made, and the quantity of items transferred.

(d)Report Regarding Relief for Unauthorized Countries.—

In any case in which the Secretary of Defense provides for the transportation of humanitarian relief to a country to which the transportation of humanitarian relief has not been specifically authorized by law, the Secretary shall notify the congressional committees specified in subsection (f) and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Secretary’s intention to provide such transportation. The notification shall be submitted not less than 15 days before the commencement of such transportation.

(e)Definition.—

In this section, the term “defense authorization Act” means an Act that authorizes appropriations for one or more fiscal years for military activities of the Department of Defense, including authorizations of appropriations for the activities described in paragraph (7) of section 114(a) of this title.

(f)Congressional Committees.—The congressional committees referred to in subsections (c)(1) and (d) are the following:

(1)

The Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

(2)

The Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.

1996—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–106, § 1312(1), (2), redesignated subsec. (d) as (b) and struck out former subsec. (b) which read as follows: “Authority To Transfer Funds.—To the extent provided in defense authorization Acts for a fiscal year, the Secretary of Defense may transfer to the Secretary of State funds appropriated for the purposes of this section to provide for—

“(1) the payment of administrative costs incurred in providing the transportation described in subsection (a); and

“(2) the purchase or other acquisition of transportation assets for the distribution of humanitarian relief supplies in the country of destination.”

“(c) Transportation of Humanitarian Relief.—(1) Transportation of humanitarian relief provided with funds appropriated for the purposes of this section shall be provided under the direction of the Secretary of State.

“(2) Such transportation shall be provided by the most economical commercial or military means available, unless the Secretary of State determines that it is in the national interest of the United States to provide such transportation other than by the most economical means available. The means used to provide such transportation may include the use of aircraft and personnel of the reserve components of the Armed Forces.

“(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as waiving the requirements of section 2631 of this title and sections 901(b) and 901b of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 U.S.C. App. 1241(b) and 1241f).”

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–106, § 1312(4), redesignated subsec. (f) as (d) and substituted “the congressional committees specified in subsection (f) and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and House of Representatives of the” for “the Committees on Appropriations and on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the”. Former subsec. (d) redesignated (b).